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Game 62: Artie Party

Posted Mar 4, 2014
by Shawn Mitchell
| 0 comments

How does one say “hoss” in Russian? In Cyrillic, it looks something like “KOHb.” In Columbus, it has appeared as Artem Anisimov.

He remains in hoss mode. Last night, he scored two goals – one, the game-winner, the other, the game-icer – to propel the Jackets to a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in the Nationwide Arena. His compatriot, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, made 31 saves, including 14 over the span of a wooly third period.

“Right now , (Anisimov) might be as good as we’ve seen him play in a Columbus uniform,” coach Todd Richards said. “Two huge goals for us, especially the last one with the way the game was going. I’m repetitive when I talk about him. He’s a trustworthy guy, and you’re starting to see the skill that he has. He’s starting to finish.”

The Jackets (32-25-5) moved past the Detroit Red Wings and into an Eastern Conference wild card spot.

The Jackets have as many points (69) as the New York Rangers, but the Rangers have one more victory and thus hold, for the moment, the third automatic playoff bid in the Metropolitan Division. The Jackets and Rangers are one point behind second-place Philadelphia.

The Jackets might just be rolling again.

They came off the Olympic break with a spotty performance in a loss in New Jersey, but they have won three in a row since. Anisimov had the game-winning goal in each of the victories, the first Jacket in history to score three consecutive GWGs, according to Elias.

Despite the losses of defensemen Fedor Tyutin (ankle) and Ryan Murray (ankle, high ankle, knee, they are calling it “lower body”), they are beginning to resemble their pre-break selves.

They are 15-6-1 since New Year’s Day.

Anisimov has five goals since he got back from Sochi and 18 on the season. Last night, his third-period goal was huge. With the Jackets clinging to a 3-2 lead and the Stars buzzing, he came roaring around the back of the net to roof a backhand with 4 minutes, 7 seconds remaining in regulation. His double-fist pump was ardent. The relief among the 15,661 in the stands was palpable. Phew. Roar.

“Just bring it back to the net and just shoot,” Anisimov said. Backhand all the way? “Yeah. Why not? The defenseman gave me the room to go in the middle. If he doesn’t, maybe I shoot from the forehand.”

The Jackets looked like they were going to blow out the Stars in the first period. One of the reasons: Stars backup goaltender Dan Ellis – making his first start since Feb. 1 and only his second since Jan. 14 – was a bit rusty.

Ellis was beaten over the glove just 74 seconds into the first period. The scorer was Boone Jenner, who loaded up on a 32-foot snap shot from the top of the left circle. It was Jenner’s 11th goal of the season. It culminated a lightning-quick counter attack, which included long, accurate passes from Nathan Horton to Ryan Johansen to Jenner. That got the crowd going.

R.J. Umberger scored next at 11:29. He capped another rush with a neat move in the low slot with a deposit into an inordinately gaping net. It was his 17th goal of the season. Brandon Dubinsky and James Wisniewski had the assists.

Anisimov scored next, on the power play, unassisted at 15:00. He picked up a loose puck in front and shoveled in the garbage.

Thus, the Jackets took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Stars gathered momentum in the second period. Like the Jackets, they were playing the second night of a back-to-back. It just took a little longer for them to get their legs going – and once they did, they were dangerous.

The Stars were 8-2-2 in their previous dozen. They have vaulted back into the Western Conference playoff picture, for reasons that were made obvious as last night’s game wore on. The Stars attack with alacrity. They pass their way quickly out of their own zone and carry speed through the neutral zone. They have a goodly number of dangerous players, including Jamie Benn, Cody Eakin, Valeri Nichushkin and, of course, Ray Whitney, the Wizard.

The Jackets were lucky to get out of the second period with their 3-0 lead intact. They had just one shot in the period, which tied a club record (matched 10 times).

Early in the third – at 1:39, to be exact – Whitney set up Alex Goligoski for a power-play goal. Whitney purposely aimed a wrist shot at Bobrovsky’s (far) left pad, the rebound caromed to the weak side and Goligoski was there, pinching, to deposit the rebound.

Not two minutes later – at 3:22, to be exact – another Stars defenseman scored. Trevor Daley, from near the left hash marks, redirected a point shot by Sergei Gonchar down and past Bobrovsky. That cut the Jackets’ lead to 3-2 and threw a wave of nerves through the crowd. Yeesh.

Bobrovsky was not to be beaten again. The Stars came at him in waves, but he – and the Jackets’ rejiggered defense – held.

“We probably let off the gas, got too comfortable with a 3-0 lead,” Umberger said. “I think fatigue set in a little bit. We just kind of kept going backwards. We couldn’t sustain any pressure, any momentum. Situations like that, that’s when you’re thankful you have a guy like Bob in the net.”

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